LONDON (Reuters) - A British company has developed a camera
that can detect weapons, drugs or explosives hidden under
people's clothes from up to 25 meters away in what could be a
breakthrough for the security industry.

The T5000 camera, created by a company called ThruVision,
uses what it calls "passive imaging technology" to identify
objects by the natural electromagnetic rays -- known as
Terahertz or T-rays -- that they emit.

The high-powered camera can detect hidden objects from up
to 80 feet away and is effective even when people are moving.
It does not reveal physical body details and the screening is
harmless, the company says.

The technology, which has military and civilian
applications and could be used in crowded airports, shopping
malls or sporting events, will be unveiled at a scientific
development exhibition sponsored by Britain's Home Office on
March 12-13.

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"Acts of terrorism have shaken the world in recent years
and security precautions have been tightened globally," said
Clive Beattie, the chief executive of ThruVision.

"The ability to see both metallic and non-metallic items on
people out to 25 meters is certainly a key capability that will
enhance any comprehensive security system."

While the technology may enhance detection, it may also
increase concerns that Britain is becoming a surveillance
society, with hundreds of thousands of closed-circuit
television cameras already monitoring people countrywide every
day.

ThruVision came up with the technology for the T5000 in
collaboration with the European Space Agency and from studying
research by astronomers into dying stars.

The technology works on the basis that all people and
objects emit low levels of electromagnetic radiation. Terahertz
rays lie somewhere between infrared and microwaves on the
electromagnetic spectrum and travel through clouds and walls.

Depending on the material, the signature of the wave is
different, so that explosives can be distinguished from a block
of clay and cocaine is different from a bag of flour.